As competitive as it gets, a batter scoring the fastest century in T20 cricket pulls off one of the most striking feats in the game.
Whether it is domestic T20, a franchise league or a T20 international, a batter who can reach three figures inside the first few overs of an innings stands out in the 20-over format.
Sahil Chauhan holds the record for the fastest century in T20 cricket. The Estonia batter took just 27 balls to reach his hundred against Cyprus in the second T20I of a six-match series in Episkopi on 17 June 2024.
After Estonia restricted Cyprus to 191/7 in their 20 overs, Chauhan smashed an unbeaten 144 off just 41 balls to guide Estonia to a six-wicket victory. Batting at No. 4, he hit 18 sixes and six fours.
Two Indians came within a ball of that record later the same year, both in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Urvil Patel reached his hundred in 28 balls for Gujarat against Tripura in Indore on 27 November 2024, and eight days later Abhishek Sharma matched him with a 28-ball hundred for Punjab against Meghalaya in Rajkot. Turkey’s Muhammad Fahad then took 29 balls against Bulgaria in Sofia in July 2025.
Chris Gayle held the record for the fastest century in T20 for 11 years, taking just 30 balls for his hundred against Pune in the 2013 edition of the Indian T20 League. The ‘Universe Boss’ finished on an unbeaten 175 off 66 balls with 17 sixes and 13 fours, a strike rate of over 265. That 175* stood as the highest individual score in T20 cricket until Lhuan-dre Pretorius made 188 not out in October 2026.
Fastest century in T20 cricket
All hundreds reached in 32 balls or fewer, in any senior men’s T20 match (as of 30 September 2026).
| Player | Match | Balls | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sahil Chauhan | Estonia v Cyprus | 27 | 2024 |
| Urvil Patel | Gujarat v Tripura | 28 | 2024 |
| Abhishek Sharma | Punjab v Meghalaya | 28 | 2024 |
| Muhammad Fahad | Turkey v Bulgaria | 29 | 2025 |
| Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors | 30 | 2013 |
| Abhishek Sharma | India v Afghanistan | 30 | 2026 |
| Urvil Patel | Gujarat v Services | 31 | 2025 |
| Nicholas Pooran | MI New York v Washington Freedom | 31 | 2026 |
| Rishabh Pant | Delhi v Himachal Pradesh | 32 | 2018 |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | India A v UAE | 32 | 2025 |
| Abhishek Sharma | Punjab v Bengal | 32 | 2025 |
Rishabh Pant held the Indian record for almost seven years with his 32-ball hundred for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in the 2018 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Urvil Patel and Abhishek Sharma now share it on 28 balls, and Abhishek has three of the eleven fastest T20 hundreds ever made.
Fastest century in Indian T20 League
Gayle’s 30 balls is still the league record, and nobody has got closer than 35 balls. Before him, Yusuf Pathan was the league’s fastest centurion. In a 2010 game against Mumbai, Rajasthan were 43/3 after seven overs chasing 213, and Pathan’s 37-ball hundred took them to within four runs of the target.
The closest anyone has come since is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who reached his hundred in 35 balls for Rajasthan against Gujarat in Jaipur in April 2025 and then in 36 balls against Hyderabad at the same ground in April 2026.
| Player | Team | Opposition | Balls | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Gayle | Bangalore | Pune | 30 | 2013 |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Rajasthan | Gujarat | 35 | 2025 |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Rajasthan | Hyderabad | 36 | 2026 |
| Yusuf Pathan | Rajasthan | Mumbai | 37 | 2010 |
| Heinrich Klaasen | Hyderabad | Kolkata | 37 | 2025 |
| David Miller | Punjab | Bangalore | 38 | 2013 |
| Travis Head | Hyderabad | Bengaluru | 39 | 2024 |
| Priyansh Arya | Punjab | Chennai | 39 | 2025 |
| Abhishek Sharma | Hyderabad | Punjab | 40 | 2025 |
The full list is in our guide to the fastest century in the Indian T20 League.
Fastest century in T20I cricket
The T20I record also belongs to Sahil Chauhan’s 27 balls against Cyprus. He took it from Namibia’s Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, who had reached a hundred off 33 balls against Nepal in Kirtipur four months earlier. Muhammad Fahad’s 29 balls for Turkey is second.
Abhishek Sharma is third. He reached his hundred in 30 balls against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on 17 September 2026, finishing on 108 off 34 as India won by 127 runs to complete a 3-0 series sweep. It is the fastest T20I hundred by a batter from a Full Member nation, and it took the Indian record from Rohit Sharma.
South Africa’s David Miller set a then T20I record of 35 balls against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom in 2017, after being dropped on zero. Within two months, Rohit Sharma equalled it against Sri Lanka in Indore, days after his third double century in ODIs.
| Player | Team | Opposition | Balls | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sahil Chauhan | Estonia | Cyprus | 27 | 2024 |
| Muhammad Fahad | Turkey | Bulgaria | 29 | 2025 |
| Abhishek Sharma | India | Afghanistan | 30 | 2026 |
| Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton | Namibia | Nepal | 33 | 2024 |
| Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe | Gambia | 33 | 2024 |
| Finn Allen | New Zealand | South Africa | 33 | 2026 |
| Kushal Malla | Nepal | Mongolia | 34 | 2023 |
| David Miller | South Africa | Bangladesh | 35 | 2017 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | Sri Lanka | 35 | 2017 |
| Sudesh Wickramasekara | Czech Republic | Turkey | 35 | 2019 |
| Kushal Bhurtel | Nepal | China | 35 | 2026 |
More on the international list in our guide to the fastest T20I centuries.
Lead photo: JEWEL SAMAD / AFP